Alexander Hamilton’s Electoral College And The Modern Election

1865 words - 8 pages

Alexander Hamilton’s Electoral College and the Modern Election

Colin Campbell

Prof. R Hurl
TA: Matthew Lesch
Tutorial: Thursday, 4:00 PM, UC 67)
U. S. Government and Politics (POL 208 Y1Y)
1 November 2012
Alexander Hamilton’s Electoral College and the Modern Election
When American's leaders assembled in Philadelphia in 1787, they originally had the goal of solving issues that had arisen from the Articles of Confederation, which had governed the young nation since separating from Britain. Instead, they drafted a completely new document that established a more permanent and effective central government. With it, they established the office of President of the United States. Rather ...view middle of the document...

" (par. 3) Unlike the Congress, however, the Electoral College would never meet as a single body. Each state's electors would convene in their respective capitals, then send notice to Washington of their votes. Hamilton believed that keeping the electors apart would reduce corruption by making it more difficult for any one political faction to manipulate the contenders, allowing them to focus exclusively on serving the interests of their state. (par. 4) Furthermore, selecting the president through this independent body would mean that he is accountable solely to the people and not to a legislative body which could depose of him if the two branches were not in agreement. His re-election would not be controlled by legislative enemies and allies. (par. 6)
Each state would be granted as many electors has they had seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate combined, effectively compromising between the preferred plans of either all states having equal weight (as they do in the Senate) or distributing power based on population (as it is in the House). If no candidate were to receive a majority of the votes, the House would convene to select the President from the top five candidates. (par. 7) Hamilton wished for the vice-president to be elected by the same body and through the same method, except that the Senate would select the winner for this office if no candidate won a majority. (par. 9) He notes that this is one of the few aspects of the new constitution that received little dissent, and the final system was ultimately very similar to the one he described. The vice-presidency was, until the passage of the twelfth amendment in 1804, awarded to the second place-candidate. However, this inherently resulted in a rival with opposing political views being first in line to the presidency, and therefore the system was changed to allow the electors to vote for both positions separately. (Nardulli 23)
Each state is free to determine how its electors are selected, and various models have been used in the past. At the time of enactment, however, several assumptions about the system were made that would quickly prove to be untrue. It was generally believed that electors would selected from individual districts in a manner similar to congressmen, would exercise personal judgement when voting. It was also believed that they would frequently endorse candidates from their home state, ultimately meaning that no candidate would win a majority and that Congress would determine the victors from a short list of candidates. (41) Some states appointed their electors legislatively rather than through election, meaning that voters did not cast a ballot for either the president or the Electoral College. The emergence of organized political parties by the third election in 1796 led to nationally coordinated campaigns that severely reduced the number of expected candidates, and thus the likelihood that no one would achieve a majority. (44)
The results of the...

Other Essays Like Alexander Hamilton’s Electoral College and the Modern Election

458 words - 2 pages
This article shows the opposing views of columnists Beth Quinn and Douglas Cunningham on the 2004 Presidential Election. While Quinn makes very good points supporting Senator John Kerry and the democrats, Cunningham argues those points supporting President George W. Bush and the republicans. Both writers practically use mudslinging to gain the readers' support for each presidential candidate.Quinn's column, Election Primer for Undecideds

1130 words - 5 pages
involves certain key areas being bombarded by campaigning and other areas of the country not being targeted at all. These supposed key election winning constituencies being targeted so ferociously can only lead to fewer people turning up to vote in the future and it therefore represents a failing of the electoral system.With regards to the issue of trust and the Iraq war, I feel that Geddes and Tonge have provided an in depth, excellent

1190 words - 5 pages
In our first week’s readings we were introduced to many different articles. These articles all had a central idea, and that was to introduce us to what women’s studies are. We learned a little about the history behind the women’s movement, with many important women who have help mold what feminism is today. In this week’s response paper, I am going to discuss the impact that college has on feminism and the effect that feminism has on college

1206 words - 5 pages
Potential Benefit and implications of the software to the college
Introduction:
In this document I will be explaining the potential benefits and the implications of the software to the college. When the college installs a new piece of software there will be a lot of advantages and disadvantages once the piece of software is installed. The software that has been installed on to the computer in the college will be enabling the college students

1089 words - 5 pages
World History Ap
Period 5
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
Jack Weatherford
Genghis Khan was a very extraordinary man. When the average person hears his name they often think he was a warlord or a shameless killer but the main thesis is to show the modern contribution he made to today’s society and warfare. He introduced many war tactics that are still used today in modern wars. Instead of a battle line, he

1474 words - 6 pages
digs into me. I'm in the middle of sleeping, it is fantastic, and my body rejuvenates itself for another day of hard, studious activities. You should also remember that I do not get much sleep (I am in college) so when I do sleep I enjoy it. So here I am deep in sleep and then I wake up, one of those times when you're like why did I just wake up quickly replacing it is this sucks. I am in no state of mind to decipher the reason for my abrupt

545 words - 3 pages
Modern Technology And Its Effect To The Youth 1
Modern Technology And Its Effect To The Youth
ABSTRACT
Modern day technological advancements are constantly seen throughout every aspect of life. Cell phones, portable Internet availability, laptop computers, iPods, mp3 players of every brand, and many other devices, are everywhere. They seem to possess unending possible detriments, but, along with such issues, technology also has

1949 words - 8 pages
facilitated by this discovery increased substantially the riches of European countries and their people, propelling the economic development to such a point that the old social structure became compatible no more.
On the other hand, the Renaissance emancipated people’s mind and facilitated the spread of ideas as freedom, equality and democracy which are essential to the founding of modern society. If the great discovery updated people’s physical

1535 words - 7 pages
Western culture and policies have shaped the modern world, especially the Middle East, in many ways. Since the sixteenth century, the nations of Western civilization have been the driving wheels of modernization. Globalization is simply the spread of modern institutions and ideas from one high power to the wider world. Technological innovation and economic growth along with such concepts as democracy, individualism, and the rule of law

1590 words - 7 pages
As an African nation experiencing the phenomenon of urbanization in expanded scale and in prominent pervasiveness, Nigeria is generally perceived as a newly-emerged modern state, which is characterized by rapid industrialization and extensive urbanization (Jiboye,2011).In particular, the term “State” is defined as the politically organized people of a particular land(Antai& Moradi, 2010). When it comes to the cohesion and stability of modernized

1550 words - 7 pages
Sir Isaac Newton : ContributionsOne of the most important scientists of all time, Isaac Newton, made many discoveries and theories that have changed the world. His studies in physics have influenced modern physics greatly with his laws of motion, his study of light, and his law of gravitational motion. Newton also created one of the most important scientific books of all time, the Principia, widely regarded as one of the most influential works

Related Papers

849 words - 4 pages
In my capacity as the independent political scientist from the state of Wyoming, I see it in the best interest of the people of this state to propose an Amendment to replace the Electoral College system with the Popular Vote of the majority of the people across the United States. My recommendations herein have considered every facet of support and evidence upon which the rationale for such a grotesque Amendment may be justified and

1816 words - 8 pages
narrow edge (the candidate that comes in second) gets no electoral votes at all. This means if a candidate wins 3000 votes in a state, and the other wins 2998, the latter gets none of the Electoral College votes for that state, so even if the latter wins the popular vote overall, he still may lose the election because he did not win the electoral college. The candidate won the plurality of the Electoral vote because there was no Electoral majority

1009 words - 5 pages
The Electoral College (EC) was established in Article II of the Constitution and amended by the 12th Amendment in 1804. Each state gets a number of electors equal to its number of members in the U.S. House of Representatives plus one for each of its two U.S. Senators creating a total of 538 electoral votes. A majority winner must receive 270 votes to be elected. With a few minor exceptions, the Electoral College gives all of the electoral votes

1856 words - 8 pages
Kevin Cowan
ENGL 1011
September 16, 2008
“Panopticism” and the American Electoral Process
The process of the American presidential election has been transformed over many decades with the ultimate goal of convincing the nation that a candidate is the best person to represent the country. In our most modern elections, the process has been refined to the point where every portion of the candidacy is planned out profitably. Instead of